Tsakani- A 29-year-old father, Thato Mokonotela, was stabbed to death by a man known to him on February 5.
Mokonotela’s neighbour, Simphiwe Mokoena, saw the incident transpire from her yard and tried to call other neighbours for help.
She said at around 21:30 last Wednesday, Mokonotela arrived home with his young daughter and found a rubbish bin outside their gate.
“He gently moved the bin to the side of the gate so he could park his car inside the garage when the man approached him angrily about the removal of his bin.
“They argued for some time as Mokonotela explained why he moved the bin. The man walked to his house as Mokonotela drove into the garage.
“The man returned with a sharp object, swearing, and was angry. Their argument continued.
“Mokonotela sat on the fence as they argued in an attempt to jump over it and that is when the other man stabbed him several times in his lower leg.
“He managed to pull Mokonotela towards him seeing to it that he would overpower him and that is when he stabbed him a few more times on his thigh near his private area,” explained Mokoena.
Mokoena said that Mokonotela fell into the yard and crawled towards the front door to inform his mother of his encounter.
She explained that Mokonotela was bleeding heavily, saying she rushed to unlock her gate to grab Mokonotela’s eight-year-old daughter who was in the car watching the incident unfold.
“I took his daughter into my house so she could not see what would transpire next. Her last words to her father were “daddy, please don’t die” and that has been ringing in my head ever since.
“The other man paraded on the street praising himself for what he had done. Mokonotela was rushed to hospital but was unfortunately declared dead minutes after arrival.”
The deceased’s mother Nelani Mavimbela cited with a heavy heart that she misses her son.
“That evening Thato returned home with his daughter after he received a call from her stating that she misses him. My son loved his daughter and lived for her. I enjoyed seeing him love his daughter that much. He would have done anything to see her happy.
“I lost a friend, my main man, a hard-working individual who loved his job. My son loved his family.
“His daughter will miss him so much. I do not know how we will continue living life without him. He was everything to us,” his mother explained.
She added that her son was her biggest blessing, saying she thought her son would be the one to bury her.
She said that the saddest thing she has had to do in a long time was to arrange her son’s funeral.
Mavimbela described her son as a private person and an introvert who expressed himself more to his friends than he would to her.
“He smiled even more when he was with his friends, he was a lover of life, he was making it in life and recently got a promotion at work which he was excited about. He looked forward to greener pastures but was unfortunately deprived of that opportunity.
“I pray that God will grant my son’s daughter strength and knowledge to succeed,” she added.
She wants justice for her son, mentioning that she has given all her worries to God.
Ekurhuleni SAPS district spokesperson Captain Neldah Sekgobela confirmed the incident.
“At around 01:00 on Thursday morning, members of Tsakane SAPS received a call from Pholosong Reginal Hospital informing them of an unnatural death.
“They proceeded to the hospital. On arrival they were shown a deceased man who had a stab wound on the inner side of his lower body,” said Sekgobela.
Upon further investigation it emerged that the deceased was stabbed by another man during an argument at the deceased’s home.
“A suspect was arrested and detained at the Tsakane SAPS,” added Sekgobela.
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